The Rio Negro Right Bank Environmental Protection Area () is an
Environmental protection area (APA) in the state of
Amazonas, Brazil.
Location

Parts of the Rio Negro Right Bank Environmental Protection Area lies in the municipalities of
Iranduba (21.17%),
Manacapuru
Manacapuru (''Munychapur'') is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Manacapuru is the third most populous city in the state. Its Human Development Index (HDI) in 2010 was 0.614, and its GDP per capita in 2021 was $2,717.89 ...
(18.96%) and
Novo Airão (59.87%) in the state of Amazonas.
It covers most of the land along the right (west) bank of the
Rio Negro from the mouth of the
Puduari River, which separates it from the
Rio Negro State Park North Section south to the point where it joins the
Solimões River
Solimões () is the name often given to upper stretches of the Amazon River in Brazil from its confluence with the Rio Negro upstream to the border of Peru. The Solimões flows for about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) through a floodplain about 80 km ...
to form the
Amazon River at
Manaus
Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...
, including part of the left bank of the Solimões. It does not include the section of the right bank covered by the
Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve, or the surroundings of the town of Novo Airão.
The section from Manaus to Novo Airão is mainly accessed by boat or float plane.
There is also access along the AM-340 highway.
The APA has an area of .
Environment
The Rio Negro Right Bank Environmental Protection Area is in the central Amazonia corridor and is part of the
Lower Rio Negro Mosaic
The Lower Rio Negro Mosaic ( is a protected area mosaic in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It coordinates between eleven conservation units of different types in the Amazon rainforest to the northwest of the state capital, Manaus.
Location
The L ...
.
It protects the extensive forests of the Rio Negro in the Central Amazon Plain.
The APA is drained by white water and black water rivers in the interfluvial region of the Rio Negro and Solimões basins, including
várzea lowland areas and higher terra firma.
In the section north of Novo Airão the forests are almost intact, but further south there are degraded areas in the municipality of Iranduba due to the proximity of Manaus.
There are over 40 species of mammals including the endangered
jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
(''Panthera onca'') and
giant otter
The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of mustel ...
(''Pteronura brasiliensis'').
There are more than 300 species of birds, including the endangered
black-and-white hawk-eagle
The black-and-white hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus melanoleucus'', formerly ''Spizastur melanoleucus'') is a bird of prey species in the eagle and hawk family (biology), family (Accipitridae). It is found throughout a large part of tropical Americas, ...
(''Spizaetus melanoleucus'') and
harpy eagle
The harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') is a large Neotropical realm, neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea Harpy Eagle, New Guin ...
(''Harpia harpyja'').
The APA is home to many species of frogs, lizards and snakes, and several of turtles and alligators, including the endangered
black caiman
The black caiman (''Melanosuchus niger'') is a crocodilian reptile endemic to South America. With a maximum length of around and a mass of over , it is the largest living species of the family Alligatoridae, and the third-largest crocodilian in ...
(''Melanosuchus niger'').
Over 100 species of fish have been identified, including the endangered ''
Arapaima gigas
''Arapaima gigas'', also known simply as Arapaima, pirarucu, or paiche,Miranda-Chumacero, G., Wallace, R., Calderón, H., Calderón, G., Willink, P., Guerrero, M., ... & Chuqui, D. (2012). Distribution of arapaima (Arapaima gigas)(Pisces: Arapaim ...
''.
People
There are 30 communities in the APA, mainly engaged in subsistence fishing but also practising commercial fishing, farming, livestock raising and manufacture of flour, canoes and boats, brooms and handicrafts.
The main commercial fish are the
Semaprochilodus taeniurus and
Semaprochilodus insignis.
The APA has several archaeological sites.
The villages of Paricatuba and Acajatuba are tourist attractions.
History
The Rio Negro Right Bank APA was created by Amazonas state governor decree 16.498 of 2 April 1995.
State law 2646 of 22 May 2001 modified the limits of the Rio Negro State Park
North Section and
South Section, and the
Rio Negro Left Bank and Right Bank APAs.
The Rio Negro Right Bank APA, Puduari - Solimões Section, now had an area of .
It became part of the
Central Amazon Ecological Corridor
The Central Amazon Ecological Corridor () is an ecological corridor in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, that connects a number of conservation units in the Amazon rainforest. The objective is to maintain genetic connectivity between the protected ...
, established in 2002.
The limits of the APA were again altered by state law 3355 of 26 December 2008.
On 9 September 2014 a working group was established to review the limits of the Puduari-Solimões section of the Margem Direita do Rio Negro Environmental Protection Area and the Rio Negro State Park North Section to compensate for land used to create the new campus for the
Amazonas State University
The Amazonas State University (, UEA) is a Brazilian public university operated by the state of Amazonas, located in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. It was established in 2001 by a state law that turned the University of Technology of Amazonas (Univer ...
.
Notes
Sources
*
*
{{authority control
1995 establishments in Brazil
Environmental protection areas of Brazil
Protected areas of Amazonas (Brazilian state)